Mending

Lovely darning and mending yarns from G! They were her aunt's and she has decided that they are not making the big move south, so gave them to me.

They are so delicate and pretty. If I did wear fine, silk hose, I guarantee that I would be constantly in need of darning threads! And repairing my lingerie!

When did mending stop? Do people still mend? My mother had a mending basket, as did my granny. If you were at a loose end, being idle, sitting about doing nothing as a child, you were given something from the mending basket to sew. A friends we stay with always had a full one, when her children were little and her husband wore woolly socks, and I would happily do a bit of darning or a repair while we were there. Something you knew you could do to help. Daunting to the owner, but a relaxing pastime to a visitor!

Do people take up trousers, skirt hems and let out seams? If they do, they keep very quiet about it! Perhaps it is one of those skills that will come back, like dressmaking and cake baking. And Domestic Science back on the curriculum? Oh Lordy, I'm getting old!